Co-liquefaction of rubber seeds and Mukah Balingian coal for bio-crude production / Siti Nur Ain Mohd Hassan

Research and development in the field of biofuel showed that certain biomass exhibit qualifying properties that can reduce or replace fossil fuel and sustain chemical feedstock production. One of the most reasonable sources of vegetable oil for large-scale production of bio-crude (biofuel), if the primary concerns are to be eradicated, is rubber seed, which are currently underutilized. The biomass samples were collected from Kedah, Malaysia and coal samples were obtained from Sarawak. All samples were examined for their physical and chemical characteristics using TGA, CHNS, and bomb calorimeter. This study evaluates the potential of rubber seed shell (RSS) and rubber seed kernel (RSK) as raw materials for co-liquefaction with Mukah Balingian (MB) coal. Among the two biomass samples, RSK is suggested to be the most suitable for bio-crude production. This study conducts liquefaction processes using MB coal and rubber seed. The individual liquefactions of MB coal and RSK show that RSK gives much higher liquefaction conversion than MB coal at the same liquefaction condition. The co-liquefaction behaviors of MB coal and RSK were investigated. In co-liquefaction, the largest enhancements in conversion of 72.8% and oil+gas yield of 66.5% were obtained at 70:30 (RSK:MB) blending ratio among different blends, respectively, at 400 °C temperature and 75 min of reaction time. The conversion and oil+gas yield obtained from the co-liquefaction under the varied conditions showed an increase and was comparable to that of MB coal liquefaction alone.